Electric-switch railway.



Patented July 2, IBM.

A. L. HATFIELD.

ELECTRIC SWITCH RAILWAY.

'Application filed. June 20, 1900.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Shaet l..

INVENTORS WITNESSES:

ATTORNEYS No. 677,778. Patented July 2, mm.

A. L. HATFIELD.

ELECTRIC swncn RAILWAY.

(Application filed Junta 20, 1900.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet -2.

i i l YIIII/I/IIIIA r INVENTOR WITNESSES:

M mm BY T65 mmvsvs' UNITED STATES I (PAT-ENT- ()FFIGE.

ANDREW L. HATFIELD, oE NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, AssIeNoR'To FREDERICK N. RIGGS, SAME PLACE.

; sLEormo-swiTcH I RAI LwA-Y.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 677,77 dated Jul 2, 1901.

' Application filed time 20, abof snn no. 20,914. (no man.)

To all whom, it may concern:

-- Be it known that I, ANDREW L. HATFIELD,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and State'of New, Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Switches for Railways; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in which like letters of reference indicate cor-' in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The objects of this invention are to provide an electric-switch-operating mechanism for railways which shall be more certain and ef-' fective in its operation, to remove the danger incident to inadvertent contact with the third rail while ina charged condition, to enable the switch to be worked by hand from the surface in event of a break in'the circuit, to secure simplicity'and cheapness, and to obtain other advantages and results, some of which" may be referred to hereinafter in connection with the description of the working parts.

The invention consists in the improved electric switch for railways and in the arrangements and combinations of parts of the same, all substantially as will be hereinafter set forth and finally embraced in the clauses of the claim. Referring to the accompanying drawings,

responding parts in each of the several views, Figure 1 is a plan of a railway track and switch to which my invention has been applied. Fig."

In said drawings, (1 indicates the road-bed of a railway, b b the rails of the main line, and b b the rails of a switch or side track.

,thetwo arms or poles of the magnet.

' bearings. base-plate d, which'hasan upturned rim (1, forming a shallow receptacle for oil or the like when required by excessive moisture. A spring 2', arranged between the post c and ad J 0' cf indicate theusual switch-tongues of a street-railway, pivoted at their larger ends and adapted at the smaller ends to lie close to or away from the rails, according as the switch is'open'or'closed; Either one or two of these switch-tongues may be used in my invention. Theseswitch tongues slide upon a top plate p, lying between the rails and covering thc'working parts of my device, uprights g extending downwardv through said plate to the top bar g of a laterally-sliding frame, which carries the switch-tongues with it.. Said uprights g pass through elongated apertures 19 in the plate 19 to allow of move ment, and covers 19 sliding with the uprights, conceal said apertures.

Below the plate 19 and bar g and at or near the bottom of a chamber a, formed in the road-bed a, I arrange transversely of the track a powerful electromagnet e, which is preferably of the horseshoe type. The armature f for said magnet is fixed upon a long sleeve f, which slides upon a rod h, extending between Standards f extend upward from said sleeve f to the bar g, before described, and thus the movements of the armature f are communicated to the switch-tongues c c. The rod h is supported at one ofits ends in the main supporting-frame e for the parts and at the other end by a post e or in any other suitable Said frame 6 and post are upon a jace'nt end of the sleeve f, serves to normally hold the parts with the armature f away from the magnet when thelatter is demagnetized. One end of the circuit-wire, as m, from the electromagnet e is connected to the railb, and the other end, as m, extends back from the switch to a point on the third rail 0 suitably distant. This third rail 'is adapted to be en gaged by a plunger on the ear, whereby electrical connection is made to complete the circuit through the electromagnet e to throw the switch.

Instead of having the circuit remain closed while the car travels through the switch and the switch-tongue being thus held in position spring 11.

by the continued attraction of the magnet, I have provided a locking-leverj, hinged at one end above the magnet e and having the other endj hooked to catch the armature f as soon as it is drawn to the magnet e and prevent it from being thrown away again by the This enables me to apply the electric current for only a moment of time and then discontinue it, leaving the switch held in position by the lever j while the car passesthrough. To this end an end portion oof the third rail 0, to which the wire at is connected, is insulated from the rest, and thus as soon as the plunger on the car passes off the section 0' said section is no longer charged. This renders it entirely harmless should any person inadvertently come in contact with it, and inasmuch as the car covers the end section while charged there can be no danelectromagnet Z, arranged on the upper part of the frame e and adapted to attract the lever j as an armature when the circuit is completed. This releases the armature f of the main or lower magnet e and permits the spring '5 to act to throw the parts to their original positions. is connected by its wires n n to the side rail 17 and to an end section 0 of the third rail, similar to the end section 0 first described. WVhen, therefore, the plunger on the car has traversed the middle section 0 of the third rail, it engages the last end section 0 and closes the switch behind the car.

prises an upright plunger-rod s, sliding in bearings g g upon the fioorq ofthe car. A spring 1- normally holdsthe said rod elevated, and the upper end s is adapt-ed to receive the motormans foot. The lower end of the rod 5': enters the socketed top of a wheel-carrier t,

and a transverse pin t connects the parts. A compression-spring v is placed between the bottom of the socket and the end of the rod 5, and the transverse aperture to for the pin t is elongated to permit action of the spring '21 to ease the contact of the wheel w with the third ables the switch-tongues to be pushed either "way by hand at the surface after the lockingleverj is lifted.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new is- 1. In a railway-switch-operating device,tl1e

Said secondary magnet Z The said plunger carried by the car preferably coin-f switch-tongue,- a device for positively locking f said switch-tongue when thrown, and a secondary electromagnet for releasing said locking device,- a box or casing inclosing said electromagnets and locking device, and mechancombination with a switch-tongue, of asliding frame carrying said switch-tongue, a primary electromagnet for sliding said frame,-a lever for locking said frame against sliding and a secondary electromagnet for operating said lever, substantially as set forth.

' 2. In a switch-operating device for railways, the combination with a switch-tongue, of a sliding frame connected to said switch- -tongue, an electromagnet adapted to-slide said frame, a spring for restoring saidframe to normal position, a locking-lever for said frame, a secondary electromagnet for releasing said locking-lever, and means for com pleting the circuit through said electromag nets from the car substantially as set forth.

3. In a railway-switch-operating device,the combination of a transversely-sliding frame having at the topa bar to which the switchtongue is pivoted and at the bottom a sleeve f, having an armature f, thereon, a supporting-bar h, 'extendi'ng'through said sleeve and upon which the frame slides an electromagnet for attracting said armature and sliding the frame, alocking-lever having a hooked end holding said armature to the magnet, means for releasing said lever, and a spring for throwing the frame to carry .the armature away from the magnet, substantially as set forth.

4. In an electric-switch-operating device, the combination of a third rail, and a plunger 1 carried by the car and adapted to engage the at its lower end, a spring in said socket and a.

plunger-'rodentering said socket against the spring and being held by a transverse pin working in an elongated aperture in the rod,

substantially as set forth.

5. The combination with a railway-switch tongue, of an electromagnet for throwing said ically-operated releasing means extending from said locking device outside of the said box or casing, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination with a railway-switch, of an electromagnet for throwing said switch, means for automatically locking said switch in position when thrown, a secondary electromagnet for releasing said locking means, a casing containing said electromagnets and locking means, and a lever connected to said lockin g means and extending outside the easing, whereby the switch can be mechanically operated as Well as electrically, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination with a railway switch, of a sliding frame rigidly connected to the switch, an electromagnet adapted to slide said frame in one direction, a catch for locking said frame in the position given it by the electromagnet, a secondary electromagnet adapted to release said locking-catch electrically, a lever by which the catch can be mechanically released, and a spring for restoring the sliding frame to initial position when the locking-catch is released, substantially as set forth.

8. In a switch-operating device, the com bination of a sliding frame rigidly connected to the switch, a bar h, upon which said frame slides, an armature fast on said frame and projecting at opposite sides of said bar, stationary'electromagnets at the sides of said bar and adapted to attract said armature to stantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 16th day of June, 1900. 4

ANDREW L. HATFIELD,

Witnesses:

CHARLES H. PELL, G. B. PITNEY. 

